Thursday, January 14, 2016

NTSB Identification: ERA16FA08914 CFR Part 91: General AviationAccident occurred Thursday, January 14, 2016 in Wake, VAAircraft: CAUGHRAN TERRY FLIGHTSTAR II, registration: N82652Injuries: 1 Fatal.This is preliminary information, subject to change, and may contain errors. Any errors in this report will be corrected when the final report has been completed. NTSB investigators either traveled in support of this investigation or conducted a significant amount of investigative work without any travel, and used data obtained from various sources to prepare this aircraft accident report.On January 14, 2016 at 1400 eastern standard time an experimental amateur-built Flightstar II, N82652, was substantially damaged when it departed controlled flight and impacted wooded terrain near Wake, Virginia. The sport pilot was fatally injured. The airplane departed Hummel Field Airport (W75) Saluda, Virginia, at 1355. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed for the flight to New Quarter Farm Airport (92VA) Gloucester, Virginia. The personal flight was conducted under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. After completing repairs to the landing gear, the pilot planned to relocate the airplane from W75 back to 92VA, where it was based. On the morning of the accident, witnesses watched the pilot as he performed an uneventful preflight inspection of the airplane. The pilot subsequently departed. About 2 miles south of W75, a witness observed the airplane as it flew southerly, at an estimated altitude of 1,200 feet above ground level. The witness heard a loud "cracking" sound. He watched as the airplane's left wing folded upwards from its mount on the fuselage, and heard the engine's rpm increase as the airplane entered a spiral nose dive. He further described that the left wing was "flapping wildly" as the airplane descended in a spiral toward the ground. The airplane impacted wooded terrain, and wreckage displayed no evidence of a pre- or post-impact fire. The airframe and engine were recovered and retained for further examination.

FAA Flight Standards District Office: FAA Richmond FSDO-21CAUGHRAN TERRY FLIGHTSTAR II N82652Those who may have information that might be relevant to the National Transportation Safety Board investigation may contact them by email eyewitnessreport@ntsb.gov, and any friends and family who want to contact investigators about the accident should email assistance@ntsb.gov.

MIDDLESEX COUNTY, Va. — Virginia State Police identified the pilot killed when his ultralight plane crashed Thursday in Middlesex County as Gilbert Dennis Gregory of Glenns, Virginia. Gregory was the only person in the plane when it crashed, investigators said. The cause of the crash remained under investigation.
“Virginia State Police Communications center received a phone call at approximately 2:08 p..m. [Thursday] from a citizen advising that they had observed a plane crash in Middlesex County,” a Virginia State Police spokesperson said. “At approximately 2:58 p.m. Virginia State Police located an ultra light aircraft.”
Gregory was recently recognized by the Federal Aviation Administration as a pilot who had “met or exceeded the high educational, licensing and medical standards established by the FAA.”
Anyone with additional information about Gregory or the crash can submit a news tip here.Story and photo: http://wtvr.com

MIDDLESEX, VA (WWBT) -One person has died in a plane crash in Middlesex County, according to Virginia State Police.Police identified the victim as Gilbert Dennis Gregory. Gregory was the pilot and only occupant of the plane.Virginia State Police say they received a call around 2:08 p.m. Thursday from a person who says they saw the plane go down. Alvin Keycr says he was sitting outside his home on Regent Road when he spotted the plane coming down."We heard naaa, pat pat, and then the next thing you know... it went boom," he says. "The tail blew up, and then it started gliding and twisting. Then the wings just folded up, and it went down. It almost sounded like a hurricane or something cause the trees were crackling and all that."Police found an ultralight aircraft in the woods, which was about one mile from Wake Road, according to Middlesex Emergency Management director Mark Nugent.The plane had a ballistic-type cylinder that deploys a parachute. However, the parachute did not deploy when the plane crashed. A bomb squad/arson unit was on scene to safely deploy it and detonate it.The Virginia Forestry Dept. used a bulldozer to get into the woods to locate the plane.

Troopers have secured the scene and will pick up their investigation on Friday. FAA and NTSB will be on scene Friday to investigate.

MIDDLESEX Co., Va. (WVEC) -- Virginia State Police are investigating a plane crash that resulted in a fatality Thursday.Someone called 911 around 2:08 p.m. saying that they had seen a plane crash in Middlesex County.Around 3 p.m., troopers located an ultralight aircraft with a fatality off Route 33 near Wake Road at Revere Landing.State Police say the aircraft contains a ballistic type cylinder/device that was to deploy a parachute. This device did not deploy prior to the crash and the bomb/arson team was called to make sure the scene was safe.The Department of Forestry was called to the scene to clear the area of the aircraft crash.The FAA and NTSB have been called and are scheduled to report to the scene Friday morning.The pilot and only occupant of the aircraft has been identified as Gilbert Dennis Gregory, of the 1400 block of George Washington Highway in Glenns, Va.Story, video and photos: http://www.13newsnow.com

MIDDLESEX COUNTY, Va. (WAVY) — Virginia State Police say one person was killed in a plane crash in Middlesex County Thursday afternoon.Police have identified the victim as Gilbert Dennis Gregory, of Glenns, Virginia.A witness called notified Virginia State Police of the crash shortly after 2 p.m.The an ultra light aircraft was located an hour later. Police say one person was found dead.Police said the ultralight aircraft contains a ballistic type cylinder/device that is used to deploy a parachute. The device did not deploy prior to the crash. Officers called the bomb/arson team to deploy the device to render the scene safe. The scene has been secured.The Department of Forestry has been called to the scene to clear the area of the aircraft crash. The FAA and NTSB have also been called and will report to the scene Friday morning .The crash remains under investigation.

Update 6:00 a.m.: Virginia State police have identified the pilot as Gilbert Dennis Gregory, of the 14000 block of George Washington Highway in Glenns. Update 6:30 p.m.: According to the Virginia State Police, a bomb and arson investigation team has been called to the crash site to safely deploy a parachute device on the aircraft.The device is a ballistic type cylinder that can explode with high power to release the chute. According to Sgt. Michelle Anaya, the device did not deploy before the plane crashed. Anaya said they are unsure if the device is working and do not want it deploying and possibly hurting someone while they are investigating the site. The arson team is expected to deploy the device so investigators can continue working.Anaya said that the Department of Forestry has also been called to the scene to clear the area.A representative from the FAA and NTSB should be on scene in the morning, she said.Previously:One person was killed in a plane crash in the Wake area of Middlesex County Thursday afternoon, according to the Virginia State Police.An ultra light aircraft crashed around 2 p.m. in a wooded area about a quarter-mile off of Wake Road, Trooper Greg Mathias said at the scene. The crash could not be seen from the roadway.Police received a phone call from a citizen around 2:08 p.m. on Thursday who said they had seen a plane go down in the area.The crash site was located around 2:58 p.m., police said, with one person dead. The person has not yet been identified, Mathias said.Troopers are on-scene investigating the crash, along with deputies from the Middlesex County Sheriff’s Office. Mathias said the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board have both been notified of the crash.Hartfield Fire Department and Deltaville Rescue Squad responded to the crash.Story and photo: http://www.dailypress.com

MIDDLESEX COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) — Virginia State Police plan to resume their investigation into a fatal plane crash in Middlesex County on Friday morning.State police spokesperson Steve Vick said the crash was reported at 2:08 p.m. Thursday by a citizen who saw the plane go down. Shortly before 3 p.m., search crews located an ultralight aircraft somewhere off Route 33 near Wake Road at Revere Landing.The crash site was found roughly a mile into the woods. Emergency crews had to use ATVs and chainsaws to maneuver through the woods and get to the wreckage. The Department of Forestry was called to the scene to clear the area of the aircraft crash.State Police say the aircraft contained a ballistic type cylinder device to deploy a parachute, 8News affiliate WVEC reports. The device was not deployed before the crash and the bomb/arson team was called to make sure the scene was safe.The pilot and only occupant of the aircraft has been identified as Gilbert Dennis Gregory, of the 1400 block of George Washington Highway in Glenns, Va.The FAA and NTSB have been called and are scheduled to report to the scene Friday morning.